Audit firms and accountancy

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Audit firms and accountancy

Audit firms are increasingly facing regulatory pressure in the areas of supervision, administrative sanctions, liability and disciplinary law and corporate governance. Regulators such as the Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets (AFM) and the Belgian Financial Services and Markets Authority (FSMA) and the Public Prosecutor (OM) are continuing to investigate audit firms and individual auditors, which often leads to prosecution. Audit firms and individual auditors are also increasingly targeted in liability suits before the civil and criminal courts.

Recent legal developments resulting from EU legislation have significantly affected the profession. This can be seen in the auditing of the financial statements of Public Interest Entities (PIEs) but also in the separation of audit and advisory services, the regular rotation of audit firms and individual auditors as well as additional requirements regarding communication between the auditor and the audit committee of the PIE. As a consequence of this increased regulation, audit firms and individual auditors are being scrutinized and targeted not only by regulators but also by stakeholders.

Related news

Short Reads - The first year of the General Data Protection Regulation ("GDPR") is over. Although early noises predicted an entirely new data protection regime, the European legal framework did not change substantially, the major changes being an expansion of the territorial scope to non-EU countries and stronger powers of enforcement. In spite of fears and rumours of immediate enforcement and huge fines, most regulators focused on helping companies achieve compliance, or they enforced without directly imposing fines.

Speaking slot - On 7 June 2018, Steven Hijink will speak at the Diligentia lecture organised by the Vereniging van Effectenbezitters (VEB) on the topic of "Auditors and audit committees as 'gatekeepers' ".

Speaking slot - On 24 September 2018 Tom Barkhuysen will talk about the importance of fair court fees. He will be one of the keynote speakers at the conference, which will also include members of the House of Representatives and officials from the Ministry of Justice and Security.

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